For Jacob Eichengreen ’13, the usual “How was your spring break?” question was a difficult one to answer. Eichengreen was one of eight Wesleyan students who traveled to Haiti over spring break to assist a non-profit organization called Ananda Marga Universal Relief Team-Haiti (AMURT) in disaster relief from the devastating earthquake that struck more than two months ago.

“Every single moment was every single emotion,” Eichengreen said. “It was a really hard and trying experience. The part that seems to resonate the most comes from the incredible resilience of the people and their perseverance in the time of disaster.”

From March 7 to 19, two sophomores, Haley Baron, and John Snyder; and six freshmen, Eichengreen. Elijah Meadow, Ali Patrick, Barabralynn Moseman, Michael Steves and Stefan Skripak, lived in Port-au-Prince assisting the organization in setting up child-friendly zones. These zones were spaces both in and outside of the refugee camps where children could have a space to continue to learn and grow despite the closing of schools. The eight students volunteered in a variety of ways, assisting teachers, helping to register kids in camps, aiding in food distribution, organizing medical supplies, and helping out at an orphanage.

“A lot of our time was spent with the kids who were so smiling and loving,” Meadow said, whose parents are directors at AMURT-Haiti. “We would wander through the camps and all the kids would grab our hands and hug us.”

For the students, the trip was both emotional and inspiring. The destruction of Port-au-Prince was met by the compassion and generosity of the Haitians.

“Let’s just say it was life changing,” Baron said. “I’ve done a fair amount of international travel but I’ve never met a group of people who are so vibrant, infectious, incredibly loving and generous. You hear stories where people will go to a home where an old man will say, ‘No, you sit. You are the guest. I’ll stand here with my cane. You’re here today and I’ll be here tomorrow.’ It is one story that you rarely hear about in news about Haiti. You just hear about complete and utter devastation.”

The majority of the trip was spent entertaining the kids and walking around the camps, listening to people’s stories.

“You can really see how the kids are affected,” Baron said. “One asked me how she could play when she had lost her mother. So many kids just want to be held and so many adults need you to hear their story.”

Port-au-Prince was built for 200,000 people and at the time of the earthquake on January 12th, 8 million people were crammed living in the city. The level of infrastructure before the earthquake was not at a capacity to handle such a severe natural disaster leading to destruction, death, and displacement at unprecedented levels. Still, it is likely that things will only get worse in the coming months.

The students were in Haiti for the first flash flood of the rainy season. It rained eight inches in 15 minutes and one of the tent camps in Port-au-Prince was completely destroyed. Luckily, the students took shelter in a building, but the majority of Haitians had no such luck. Many worry that the rains in the next few months will unearth shallow graves and create more destruction.

“The rains are coming and it’s going to be complete and utter devastation,” Baron said. “It’s very possible that not only the ones who are already hurt or elderly will die.”

The students also returned to campus with a more informed understanding of how the U.S. has had a negative impact on Haiti. Many people point to the large amounts of foreign aid that Haiti has received for decades as the cause for high unemployment and poor industry infrastructure. Haiti is the fourth largest importer of U.S. rice in the world. A sack of domestically grown rice is two times the price of a sack of U.S. rice due to subsidies from the U.S. government and a lack of Haitian tariffs. Despite the fact that Haiti has an enormous potential to grow its own food, these subsidies have created a disincentive for Haitians to become farmers.

“You are giving them food aid, which sounds great, but in reality all you are contributing to is trash and unemployment,” Eichengreen said.

Many experts say that Haiti must rebuild its infrastructure and industry so the country can learn to support itself, creating jobs for the millions of unemployed, and the food and products that the country desperately needs. A balance must be found between foreign aid and instate industry.

“They want people to have incentive to move back to the countryside,” Baron said. “There is a saying in Haiti, ‘Don’t give a man a fish. Don’t even teach a man to fish. Help him develop ways to learn how to fish.’ One of the hardest parts for me to see was the people who wanted to work and had no opportunity. Literally, there is nothing to do.”

The transition back to the United States and Wesleyan has been difficult for the students. At first Moseman said she felt guilty about using resources that the majority of Haitians would never have access to, but she says she has turned the guilt into motivation to commit real change.

“There’s only so much productivity in feeling guilty,” Eichengreen said. “There’s no point in feeling guilty in flushing a toilet that is here because by not flushing the toilet you aren’t helping the people in Haiti.”

Several student groups on campus have focused on ways that students can help Haiti. A benefit semi-formal dance was held earlier in the semester and the senior class donated money to an organization in Haiti. Meadow has been focusing on ways to translate his inspiration from the trip into student involvement on campus.

“Since I’ve gotten back I’ve been motivated in ways that I haven’t before,” Meadow said. “I’ve been e-mailing people and interviewing on the radio. Sean Penn e-mailed me the other day because he has been working with my parents in Haiti and runs one of the big camps in Port-au-Prince. We found this avenue where we can actually affect change and do something.”
The students are focusing on preparing a video presentation of their trip, which will be shown during WesFest. The group is trying to find ways that Wesleyan students can help the disaster besides donating money. Political advocacy was suggested as one such route—Connecticut Senator Chris Dodd is influential in U.S. foreign aid and has been a large Haiti supporter in the past.

“We have time and we have so many resources at Wesleyan,” Eichengreen said. “We’re in such an awesome position to do things and we are even more inspired to do it. Maybe we can organize something if people are interested.”